Names, Names, and more NAMES!

I love starting out the year with learning and talking about our names.  It is a great way to teach the students that words are made up of letters, and that words carry meaning.  I wanted to have one of my bulletin boards be a colorful wall, all about the members of our class.  We made our names out of ripped pieces of paper, an idea that I learned from Deanna Jump.  Here is the finished product:

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To prepare this project, I wrote everyone’s name with white crayon onto black construction paper.  For some of the children with long names, I taped two papers together so the letters could be spaced out.  

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I laid out an assortment of colored paper onto the desk, and asked the students to choose one color for each letter.  They were to rip the paper into little pieces and glue them onto the letter.  I showed them how to trace the letter with glue, and then press the paper down.

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It was really interesting to see who was able to rip the paper easily, and to see who had trouble.  I did this project in a small group setting so I could observe their motor skills.  

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I love our colorful wall of names!  I cut around each name so they would fit all on the same board…It will be nice and bright for Back to School Night!

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22 responses to “Names, Names, and more NAMES!”

  1. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    The black paper with bright colors on the letters looks great! Thanks for the idea. Our curriculum talks about everyone having a unique name next week. Looking forward to using this idea.

  2. Learning with Mrs. Parker Avatar
    Learning with Mrs. Parker

    Cute and colorful!

  3. Unknown Avatar
    Unknown

    These look awesome! We are doing this same activity next week when we go over rainbow and colors in Science to tie it all together! I can't wait to share them!
    Nicole
    Rowdy in Room 300

  4. Erin Avatar
    Erin

    I LOVE THIS!

  5. Christy Avatar
    Christy

    They look so nice on black paper. Wish I had used that instead of white. Next year!

  6. Sandy Avatar
    Sandy

    These turned out great! I love how colorful they are! 🙂

  7. Kelley Dolling Avatar
    Kelley Dolling

    This looks so awesome!! Great call my friend! You gave me an awesome idea for my firsties. Gonna use this for sight words. You are brilliant Miss Apples and ABCs . . . just brilliant 🙂

    Kelley Dolling
    Teacher Idea Factory

  8. Unknown Avatar
    Unknown

    Wonderful idea — we are going to do this! Thank you!!

  9. Lois Jones Avatar
    Lois Jones

    I love that they tore the paper so well. I fear that would be
    a great challenge for many children especially those with long names.
    Did the project take a long time?

  10. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    Love it! So going to "borrow" this idea.

  11. The Colorful Apple Avatar
    The Colorful Apple

    Those are awesome!! I love the bright colors!

    Sara 🙂
    Smiling In Second Grade

  12. Cupcake Avatar
    Cupcake

    Ooo, I love this idea paired with Kelley's to use this for sight words!! Thanks ladies!! 😉
    ❤Teri
    A Cupcake for the Teacher

  13. rlawruk Avatar
    rlawruk

    I did this with perk and my kinders and they did awesome!! Took most about 30 mins..the kinders a little less than that!

  14. Jessica Avatar
    Jessica

    These look awesome! I was so wanting to do this with my first graders this year, but then got switched to second grade. Love how they look altogether!
    Jessica

    Apples and Papers

  15. teaching fashionista Avatar
    teaching fashionista

    I love it! Totally borrowing this awesome idea..

  16. NiseyT Avatar
    NiseyT

    Looks great on the black. We did this last week only on white. I gave the students that struggled with tearing the paper small square that they had to rip instead of whole pieces of paper. It really seemd to help them.
    Denise

  17. Mrs. M Avatar
    Mrs. M

    We did something similar on Friday too! But I think yours turned out way nicer! LOL! Love the colors 🙂

    Color Me Kinder

  18. Unknown Avatar
    Unknown

    I love this! Especially for Open House! Great idea 🙂

    Mixed Bag of Crazy

  19. Kelly Avatar
    Kelly

    Very nice! I will be doing this activity tomorrow! : )

  20. Erin Sample Avatar
    Erin Sample

    Love it like everyone else! The colors look awesome on your board. I want to do that next year for sure!
    Erin
    Sample’s Superstars

  21. graciegirl Avatar
    graciegirl

    What a brilliant idea {on so many levels}!!! I'm using this with my homeschooled kiddies. Thanks!

  22. kindermom Avatar
    kindermom

    I was insprired by your post and tried it with my kinders! They turned out so amazing! Thank you so much for you great ideas. Please keep them coming!